Robot CarnivalRobots are no strangers to the realm of science fiction, nor are they unfamiliar to anime. The idea of robotics poses several fundamental questions about what it is to be human by contrast to an artificial life form, about our role as a creator instead of simply the created, and if our tools are more than just the sum of their parts. Robot Carnival collects a series of nine animated shorts about robots; the stories are of varying tone and plot, some played for comedy, some for seriousness, but all showcasing robots as an awe-inspiring pinnacle of human innovation while questioning our responsibility in their advent.
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For a film clocking in at about ninety minutes, nine animated shorts might come across as unfocused; however, each short is interconnected not only by their common theme, but by the diversity of their content. The opening and closing shorts bookending the film are co-directed by anime legend Katsuhiro Otomo. They are played for tension at first, but then for absurdity when an unnamed desert town boards up its windows in a futile effort to defend itself against the rampaging robot behemoth that is the very title of the film come to life, threatening all in Monty Python-esque lunacy. "Franken's Gear" is a robotic re-imagining of the classic novel by Mary Shelley, which like many of the other shorts, is not accompanied by dialogue, but paints a clear picture with music and image. It could be that the golem which is crafted in the story is jealous or simply confused by his creator's affection toward a bizarre globe hanging Igor-like on his back, but the resemblance to the planet Earth suggests that the doctor's global sights were less than benevolent. The dirty, crumbling crafting of the robot is a sharp contrast to "Deprive", the next entry which suggests that an alien invader has kidnapped a young girl with his robot army, and only her bodyguard--disguised as a human--can save her. Like another entry in the collection, "Star Light Angel", this story features a hero who must rescue a young girl from danger, a white knight representation of the robot (or those posing as robots). "Deprive" feels like a classic action anime, with explosions, chases, lasers, a fun sci-fi tale with electric guitar riffs, but one that highlights the nobility of the machine, like an homage to Asimov's Laws of Robotics. Compare these two with "Presence", one of the few voiced entries in the film; "Presence" is perhaps the most thought provoking of the entries, a story about a young developer who crafts a female companion for him in secret, because he feels he wants a companion who is more feminine than his wife. While there is no indication that he has sexual designs on the robot, the implication is that since his wife is more active and empowered, he longs for some kind of control over a woman, a chauvinistic play at being the dominant partner in a relationship, accented by the God-like complex to create someone subservient to him. He appears innocent enough on the surface, but when confronted by his creation about her purpose in life and what love is, he reacts with violence, which he comes to regret in time. I've always been partial to this short, but also because it exists in a world where robotics are so commonplace that kids torment robots passing as humans, and discarded parts loom in garbage bins, a horrific testament to the lack of value placed on the robots. There is even a bizarre looming set of towers never fully explained, but an important background element to illuminate that the world in "Presence" is more than just the story of this one man, just as our lives are more than just our own select chapter.
"Cloud" is the most enigmatic of the entries in Robot Carnival, a meditation on the great and deep thoughts which waft through our minds as we might stare up at the clouds, imagining so many interpretations. Much of the action of the animated short happens behind the little robot walking through the cloudy day, the rain, the lightning, and even more. In the clouds are angels, and even representations of God...deep thoughts indeed for a creature made of metal. Thoughts transform from the contemplative to the horrible, as the clouds begin to manifest in scary shapes, mushroom clouds subverting the innocent tone at the short's inception. "Cloud" is something of a take on Pinocchio, with a "robot" himself, though carved of wood, and the transformative experience appears to be tied to his his deeper understanding of the universe beyond simple physical change. "A Tale of Two Robots—Chapter 3: Foreign Invasion" pays homage to the giant robot mecha-style of anime, but with a twist that the stage is set in mid-19th Century Japan, and is a satire of the incursion of America into Japan, which had been up to that period in history relatively isolationist. The combination of Japanese and English underscores the humorous conflict, exacerbated by the inability of the two combatants to communicate with one another. It could be said that Robot Carnival is Fantasia-like in its presentation of animated centerpieces on display, diverse and conveying story without a dependence on dialogue. "Nightmare" is the most similar of the shorts to share qualities with the Disney animated masterpiece, influenced largely by the "Night on Bald Mountain" entry. The colorful and frenetic chase between the red-caped herald of the machine overlord and the "chicken man", a poor drunk who had the misfortune to wake up from his stupor in the midst of their mechanical takeover, is stylish and tense. Each chapter in the collection of animated vignettes is an entertaining sampler of the works of a group of highly talented animators, one of the best introductory exposures to Japanese animation in my opinion. For a long time, Robot Carnival has been out of print, although recent research indicates that publisher Discotek plans to issue an official DVD release in the future, which I applaud. I was first exposed to Robot Carnival as a part of the Sci-Fi Channel's "Saturday Anime" program many years ago, a wonderful program which brought forth a collection of brilliant anime to audiences, Robot Carnival being shown very rarely, but one I was grateful to have taped to watch over and over. I would urge you to check out this gem of classic 80s-era anime when it becomes more readily available, as I consider it a genuine (almost) forgotten classic.
Recommended for: Fans of science fiction animated films, but with a diverse set of stories all tied together about robots. Sometimes very funny, sometimes touchingly heartfelt, always impressive in style and imagination.
"Cloud" is the most enigmatic of the entries in Robot Carnival, a meditation on the great and deep thoughts which waft through our minds as we might stare up at the clouds, imagining so many interpretations. Much of the action of the animated short happens behind the little robot walking through the cloudy day, the rain, the lightning, and even more. In the clouds are angels, and even representations of God...deep thoughts indeed for a creature made of metal. Thoughts transform from the contemplative to the horrible, as the clouds begin to manifest in scary shapes, mushroom clouds subverting the innocent tone at the short's inception. "Cloud" is something of a take on Pinocchio, with a "robot" himself, though carved of wood, and the transformative experience appears to be tied to his his deeper understanding of the universe beyond simple physical change. "A Tale of Two Robots—Chapter 3: Foreign Invasion" pays homage to the giant robot mecha-style of anime, but with a twist that the stage is set in mid-19th Century Japan, and is a satire of the incursion of America into Japan, which had been up to that period in history relatively isolationist. The combination of Japanese and English underscores the humorous conflict, exacerbated by the inability of the two combatants to communicate with one another. It could be said that Robot Carnival is Fantasia-like in its presentation of animated centerpieces on display, diverse and conveying story without a dependence on dialogue. "Nightmare" is the most similar of the shorts to share qualities with the Disney animated masterpiece, influenced largely by the "Night on Bald Mountain" entry. The colorful and frenetic chase between the red-caped herald of the machine overlord and the "chicken man", a poor drunk who had the misfortune to wake up from his stupor in the midst of their mechanical takeover, is stylish and tense. Each chapter in the collection of animated vignettes is an entertaining sampler of the works of a group of highly talented animators, one of the best introductory exposures to Japanese animation in my opinion. For a long time, Robot Carnival has been out of print, although recent research indicates that publisher Discotek plans to issue an official DVD release in the future, which I applaud. I was first exposed to Robot Carnival as a part of the Sci-Fi Channel's "Saturday Anime" program many years ago, a wonderful program which brought forth a collection of brilliant anime to audiences, Robot Carnival being shown very rarely, but one I was grateful to have taped to watch over and over. I would urge you to check out this gem of classic 80s-era anime when it becomes more readily available, as I consider it a genuine (almost) forgotten classic.
Recommended for: Fans of science fiction animated films, but with a diverse set of stories all tied together about robots. Sometimes very funny, sometimes touchingly heartfelt, always impressive in style and imagination.